Not hungry? Put down the fork

(NC)—It’s well-known that it takes about 15-20 minutes for our stomachs to send the message to the brain that we are full. For people trying to lose weight or control caloric intake, it’s important to stop eating when you’re satisfied, not when you’re full.

On the new CBC series Village on a Diet, Registered Psychologist Dr. Adele Fox is helping the town of Taylor, B.C. lose, literally, a ton of weight and learn about their relationship with food. She offers these tips to Taylor residents – and all Canadians – to prevent mindless eating:

1. Write: Before you ‘dig in’ grab a piece of paper and write down what it is you are feeling or what is happening that day. Often our desire to eat when we are not hungry is a way to avoid feeling certain feelings or situations. Once you can track what this is, you can fuel what it is you are hungry for and you may realize it’s not food!

2. Delay: Tell yourself that you are going to wait 15 minutes before giving yourself permission to eat that food. A craving only lasts for 5-15 minutes so if you can delayacting on it for a short period of time, you will learn how to challenge the desire.

3. Distract: have a list of activities you can do that will take your mind off the food you want to eat. Some examples to try include: going for a walk, taking a bubble bath, washing the car, reading or talking on the phone. Make a list so big that you’ll never leave yourself room for excuses, given there are many options to choose from.

Learning to eat only when hungry takes practice and time. By eating slowly, keeping a close watch on portion sizes, eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day, never skipping breakfast, and drinking plenty of water each day we can be more in control of our food intake and our waistlines.

Follow the residents of Taylor, B.C. on their journey to lose one ton of weight in only three months every Monday at 9 p.m. (9:30 p.m. NT) on CBC’s new series, Village on a Diet. Interested in making a healthy lifestyle change of your own? Go to LiveRightNow.ca to make a pledge to the Million Pound Challenge and to access healthy living tools, tips and support that can help you make a positive change in your life.

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